Black Label [EN]: Chapter 208

Black Label 207

208. Natural Premium (3)

Unlike the executives trembling at the thought of massive layoffs, Chairman Ardo’s eyes gleamed with determination as he finished speaking.

A question suddenly arose in his mind: ‘Have I been resting on my laurels until now?’

At the same time, his heart began to pound. He had succeeded in reaching a position where he could confidently say that there were no more rivals in the entire fashion industry.

There might be a brand that shines briefly, but that’s all. After all, isn’t the LVMH Group, which he leads, the leading group and the undisputed number one in the fashion world?

“Kuhaha, how amusing! Magic, is it….”

As Chairman Ardo muttered in admiration, one of the executives leaned in and whispered in his ear.

“Introducing a ‘magic performance’ on the fashion show stage? This is a performance that obscures the essence of the show and goes against convention. We should lodge a formal complaint with the organizers about Wall Flower’s excessive performance….”

Just as the executive was about to continue, Chairman Ardo narrowed his brows and asked in a chilling tone.

“Convention? How interesting. It’s certainly an unprecedented performance, but do you really think it deviates from convention? Then who exactly sets these conventions? Is there a rule explicitly stated in the official documents of Paris Fashion Week that magic performances are absolutely prohibited in collection shows?”

“That’s not the case, but….”

“My friend, get your head on straight. The emotion you’re feeling is nothing more than petty envy and jealousy towards a pioneer. The only thing we should be doing is reflecting on why we didn’t think of such an effective performance first. Do you understand?”

After speaking in a stern tone, Chairman Ardo shifted his gaze back to the runway.

Anyone who has ever planned a stage would know that Wall Flower’s luck was the worst this time.

The outdoor stage already imposes countless limitations on performances.

Moreover, the time slot was unfortunately assigned to the bright daytime, making it impossible to utilize lighting equipment.

As a result, everyone had given up on expecting much from the performance, hadn’t they?

But, magic?

It was an excellent choice that properly exploited the weaknesses.

Well, considering Lee’s past records, it wasn’t surprising.

Starting with the large-scale flash mob show at the Alexander King collection, the sunset performance at the Christian Diom [likely a misspelling of Dior] Haute Couture, and the time-travel performance at the Janelle collection….

Have the group’s VMDs [Visual Merchandising Directors] been as engrossed in the stage as they have?

No, absolutely not.

That’s why they are defeated. They must humbly accept defeat. But, one defeat should be enough, shouldn’t it?

His chest bubbled. Passion ignited, his heart raced, and adrenaline surged.

The memories of his youth, when he sold off all the vast real estate inherited from his father and took his first step into the fashion world, began to resurface.

The young days when he risked everything for unconditional victory flashed by like a panorama. Those young days burned away with cigars.

Those fierce and painful days, now packaged under the beautiful name of memories….

Now accustomed to the embarrassing title of king reigning over the fashion world, the young designer ‘Lee’ was providing him with an incredibly strong stimulus.

From this point on, Lee had become a good friend with whom he could share his innermost thoughts, and a competitor he didn’t want to lose to.

“Send a notice to the managers of the department stores under the group’s umbrella. No matter what conditions we have to endure, our department store brand must preemptively secure Wall Flower’s products. That way, we can minimize the losses incurred by other brands.”

One of the executives, after replying with “Yes, I understand,” began making a phone call and hurriedly left the venue.

Soon, Chairman Ardo stretched his neck and began to scan the atmosphere of the audience.

It seemed that they weren’t the only ones who couldn’t hide their shock at the fact that Wall Flower had incorporated ‘magic’ into the collection performance.

Some seemed completely captivated by the ingenious idea, while other purists were sitting with resentment in their eyes, as if Jaeseung had committed an unforgivable foul.

After repeatedly muttering “Lee, Lee, Lee…,” Chairman Ardo wore a pleasant smile.

The rookie designer, once called a ‘rookie’ when he collaborated with him, now seemed to have succeeded in rising to the ranks of ‘innovators’ who shake up the industry and stimulate his competitive spirit.

* * *

“The fact that the outdoor stage is in much worse condition than indoor stages, including domes, is obvious. But that doesn’t mean we have to give up on the performance altogether.”

It was what Kai Green had said to Jaeseung with confidence during the show display planning stage.

“Then?”

When Jaeseung asked back with a doubtful tone, Kai Green replied, “It’s simple,” and began to rattle off his plan.

“We just need to take a few steps back and think slowly. First of all, it seems like the first thing to do is to think about what kind of performances can be done without much difficulty even outside of a dome-shaped stage.”

Even after hearing only a brief explanation, various genres of performing arts began to come to mind.

Even though he had only briefly thought about it, about six or seven came to mind. Busking, flash mobs, juggling, magic, etc….

Around the time his thoughts reached that point. Jaeseung involuntarily exclaimed, “Ah!” and continued.

“Kai, how about ‘magic’?”

Soon, Kai Green added an interjection, “Hmm?” as if he was interested, and asked back.

“Magic, not bad, is it?”

“Yes, if I can use magic tricks to draw the picture I’m envisioning….”

“Let’s leave the assessment of possibilities to the ‘experts’.”

“Experts?”

“Lee, have you ever heard of ‘Billy Ban Corporation’?”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

It was a large-scale agency company that famous magazines often mentioned.

It virtually dominated Las Vegas, the mecca of performances, and was a symbol of success for performing artists.

If you have even a little interest in performing arts, it was such a famous place that it would be strange not to know.

“Lee, if you’re not just trying to save as much money as possible for this collection, it would be best to get advice from an artist from Billy Ban Corporation and plan it. There happens to be a magician among the affiliated artists who has the same nationality as Lee. Moreover, their age range seems to be roughly similar.”

“Yes? There’s a Korean artist of a similar age to me over there?”

After listlessly asking back, Jaeseung soon let out a groan, “Ah…,” and began to lay out his guess.

“Are you talking about magician Hyung Dae-wook?”

He was one of South Korea’s prides.

Just a while ago, he broke the record for the highest income for a magician left by ‘David Copperfield’, and he was a hot topic both domestically and internationally.

But, there was one problem.

“I heard that magician Hyung Dae-wook announced his temporary retirement after his marriage announcement? I remember the news being all over the country because of that retirement announcement….”

“No, he’s back.”

“Yes?”

“I’ve even obtained information that he re-signed with Billy Ban Corporation on February 1, 2014, to be a little more precise.”

“Kai, I’m really curious, but… how do you get that kind of information?”

“Well, I’ve collaborated with Billy Ban several times. Of course, I also have internal contact networks.”

After finishing speaking, Kai Green gave a sly smile and began to add various explanations again.

“It’ll cost a lot of money, but wouldn’t that be a ‘specialist’ you can definitely trust and leave it to?”

Regardless of whether he was a specialist or not, he was someone he wanted to sign a contract with and collaborate with just for the sake of gossip.

Just collaborating with him would allow him to be on the domestic public broadcast 9 o’clock news, which records steady viewership ratings.

As Jaeseung sent an okay sign, Kai Green nodded his head once and immediately began to make a phone call somewhere.

“Yes, this is Kai Green. It’s not that, I think we need to discuss the business I mentioned before again….”

* * *

Now that the second act of the collection has begun, Jaeseung was only busy monitoring while standing in a corner of the backstage.

What was the period of preparing for this collection like?

He thought it was a fearful time, with risks lurking everywhere.

First of all, he took a dangerous concept that no brand among the countless existing fashion brands had ever done as the main theme.

Moreover, he planned a dangerous performance that had never been done before to break through the bad conditions of being the first in line on the first day.

Finally, he even carried out various activities to attract attention through all kinds of mass media without any certainty.

Thanks to that, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that every day felt like walking on thin ice.

Occasionally, before going to bed, he would be seized with the thought, ‘I wish I could put on the show tomorrow….’

The result?

“Lee, it’s successful! It’s only been 30 seconds, but articles with positive content are already being uploaded-!”

Kai Green, who was standing by Jaeseung’s side, said in a tearful tone as he scanned his smartphone.

Soon, Jaeseung snatched the smartphone from his hand and began to read the articles on the screen.

[Paris Fashion Week Live Column, Premium Brand Wall Flower. Presents a splendid performance unprecedented in the history of the fashion world.]

[A groundbreaking idea and attempt that perfectly broke the concerns of experts. The magic performance that Wall Flower presented at the collection.]

Perhaps because the articles were hastily written and posted from their seats, only photos and short videos supporting the titles of the articles were posted without detailed explanations or footnotes.

Soon, Kai Green put his hand on his chest and muttered in a highly excited tone.

“Damn it, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

It was clear that he, too, had spent countless nights worrying, though he had been trying to act indifferent.

Soon, Jaeseung lightly patted Kai Green’s shoulder and continued in a low voice as if muttering.

“We’re almost there. We’re almost there. So don’t worry.”

This was virtually the same as offering words of comfort to himself.

* * *

About six models had passed through the runway since the second act of the show began.

“Oh my god, it’s a completely different concept from ‘Act 1’.”

It was what Geraldine said with a pale face while sitting in the audience.

If the first act of the collection felt like delving deeper into high-end fashion brands, what about the Wall Flower collection’s second act?

Should it be said that it felt like it was kindly defining the definition of ‘premium brand’?

To summarize this in one sentence….

A feast of prêt-à-porter [ready-to-wear] clothing made using the highest quality fabrics and subsidiary materials.

Models wearing clothes with designs that were completely opposite to the free-spirited designs shown in Act 1 appeared one after another on the runway.

A list of designs that gave a simple difference to the ordinariness that seemed to be applicable to everyday life without difficulty, and that exuded a luxurious feeling.

Just as Geraldine was staring blankly at the runway, the moment a male model passed by her seat and her eyes met in the air.

The model gave a smirk.

It was a smile that seemed to say that it was too early to be surprised, and that the show had only just begun.